How to Import Seasonal Products on Time?

The timely importation of seasonal products is of great importance for both producers and consumers. First of all, it should be noted that seasonal nutrition is becoming more and more common in the world. In line with these demands from consumers, many companies want to import seasonal products on time. In addition, the global epidemic, which has been going on for 2-3 years, affects imports. Therefore, safe and fast transportation has regained great importance. In addition, the importation of seasonal products is not an easy and fast process. Note that factors such as legal procedures, logistics services, and the durability of products also affect imports. So, what procedures come into prominence to import seasonal products on time?

What is the Concept of ‘Seasonal’?

The term seasonal is in many ways a poorly defined concept. Seasonality depends on the context in which it is used. For some, it is used for locally harvested food. For some, it involves learning about the natural growing seasons of foods. Others use it to describe cultural events. As you can see, defining seasonal fruits, legumes, nuts, and vegetables becomes quite confusing. What is meant here by seasonal products will be more timely-grown vegetables and fruits.

Each variety of fruit and vegetable has its own set of optimal growth and quality parameters. As a result, fruit and vegetables are produced and harvested throughout the year in various places and seasons. Countries generally import to meet their food demand and to circulate fruit and vegetables. For example, Turkey harvests and consumes apples in summer and autumn. Apples are harvested at different times in other countries in the world. Thus, countries ensure product circulation throughout the year.

 What are the Benefits of Importing Seasonal Products?

Countries resort to imports to provide enough food for the growing population. Since not every food is grown in every country, it has to provide sufficient and rich food to its citizens. So, what are the possible benefits of importing seasonal products?

• Decrease inputs: To produce enough food or to increase diversity all year round, you often need more input. You have to spend extra on energy to power greenhouses, water to irrigate the land, and chemicals to protect crops. Furthermore, if regions have a high level of animal husbandry, agricultural outputs may not be sufficient to meet people's requirements. That's why importing seasonal products can save you these troubles and extra costs.

• Increase variety: Locally or seasonal producing countries have to stick to certain products grown in that region. If disasters such as drought or flood occur at the harvest time of that year, food shortages will occur. In order to prevent this, they should increase diversity by importing seasonal products.

• No risk of food insecurity:  The climate, soil structure, and crop failures can reduce the yield of the crops. You may not even be able to harvest at all for certain crops. You can make up for this by importing seasonal products and not running out of food shortages.

How Do Legal Actions Remark on Imports of Seasonal Products?

Although you want to import products through a private enterprise, you have to comply with some legal procedures. Since each country has different customs rules, you should work with people who know the legal rules of the country you will trade with. All food and agricultural products have different regulations, analyses, and customs procedures. For example, those who want to import products from Turkey need to prepare a content certificate, health certificate, and analysis certificate. Apart from this, you should prepare the label information of the products to be supplied to the market completely. You must get the approval of the Ministry of Health for natural supplements.

You should also calculate in advance how many goods you can pass through customs, the duration of the controls, and the customs fees you will pay the per amount. Just in case, you can handle your business more easily with an employee who knows the language of the country you trade with. In some cases, countries may implement policies that prevent imports. In foreign trade, some rules must be followed for public health or safety. These rules can also be used from time to time to restrict imports. They ask you for many documents or actions that need to be taken. In this way, the entry of some goods into the country is reduced or slowed down.

Logistic Services Can Affect the Import of Seasonal Products

Seasonal effects in logistics generally vary according to the type of product transported. You should plan the transportation and transportation of perishable vegetables and fruits very well during the summer months. If you do not do this, the quality of the products will decrease. From this point of view, refrigerated transportation can be an ideal option. However, there are some points you should pay attention to. Refrigerated transportation is costly and difficult to secure unless you work with a logistics provider with a wide network.

To make your transportation easier, you can predict the total yield as the production season continues. It can determine the carrying capacity according to the estimated total yield. Then you can start preparing documents for your customs business.

The Durability of Seasonal Products and Importation

The main problem encountered in the import of seasonal products is the damage to the product. Both wrong transportation and weather conditions can trigger product deterioration. You can use refrigerated transportation and air transportation for perishable products. You can transport relatively durable and dry foods by road transport or by sea. Since fruits and vegetables are affected by the heat more in summer, you should act quickly during loading. When transporting animal products, you must transport the products in a cold form.

Considering the disruptions that may occur in the supply chain, you should choose the right transportation that will prevent the products from deteriorating. Although there is a tendency toward local production products after Covid-19 all over the world, you should not forget that the demand for seasonal products will increase with the re-activity of the logistics sector.